System and method for adjusting spring rate of a coil spring in a bike suspension

ABSTRACT

A system for easily adjusting spring rate of a rear shock for mountain bikes or motorcycles without changing an actual overall spring length. The system may include a coil spring a body sized and structured to engage with the coil spring. The spring rate may be adjusted by selectively placing the body between adjacent coils of the spring to deactivate up to one spring coil adjacent the end of the spring.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of prior U.S. applicationSer. No. 15/894,805, filed Feb. 12, 2018, the contents of which areexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to coil springs in rearsuspension shocks of mountain bikes and motorcycles, and morespecifically to an adjustment system that allows users to easily andinexpensively optimize the spring rate of the coil spring withoutreplacing the spring.

2. Description of the Related Art

Full suspension mountain bikes may use either an air shock or a coilshock to suspend one or both wheels. An air shock may generate a springforce by air pressure within a chamber, whereas a coil shock maygenerate a spring force by a coil spring. An advantage of an air shockmay be that the force can be tuned to rider preference simply by addingor removing air from within the chamber, while a disadvantage may beexcessive static friction (“stiction”) caused by seals that prevents theair shock from reacting to small bumps in the terrain. An advantage of acoil shock may be that because the coil shock does not have stiction, acoil shock may react to very small bumps, and thus, has betterperformance and ride quality than does an air shock. A disadvantage of acoil shock may be that the spring rate may be fixed and the only meansof adjustment to spring force is a small amount of pre-load change,typically created by compressing the coil spring with a threaded ring orspacer. However, adjusting the preload to a coil shock may not be thesame as adjusting the spring rate.

Typically, when a rider buys a full suspension mountain bike, the bikemay include a coil shock that has a spring of a certain spring rate.Usually, coil springs for coil shocks may be available with spring rateincrements of 50 lb/in, such as 350 lb/in, 400 lb/in, 450 lb/in, 500lb/in, and 550 lb/in. The correct/preferred spring rate for a particularrider may depend on the geometry of the bicycle suspension, the weightof the rider, and the riding style of the rider. Generally, bicyclecompanies choose to assemble their bikes with lower spring rate coilsfor smaller sized bikes and higher spring rate coils for larger bikesizes, making the assumption that heavier people ride bigger bikes.While this may be true to some degree, oftentimes shorter people may beheavier than taller people, and the size of the rider may be unrelatedto their riding style. Moreover, different riding styles that may affectcoil spring requirements may include, for example, whether or not therider aggressively jumps their bike into the air and lands hard on theground compared to mostly riding on smooth terrain. Big jumps mayrequire a much stiffer coil spring so as to not bottom out theirsuspension. Therefore, most people that buy a full suspension mountainbike including a coil shock may have the wrong spring rate associatedtherewith. If the spring rate is too low, the suspension may bottom outtoo soon and possibly cause a crash or break the bicycle frame or othercomponents. Conversely, if the spring rate is too high, the rider mayonly access a portion of the full possible suspension travel, providingan inferior ride quality.

When a rider buys an aftermarket rear shock for their mountain bike,they typically buy the shock separately from the spring. However, therider may only guess which spring they should buy unless the rider isbuying exactly the same shock that they have been using previously on aspecific bike. However, in many cases, coil shocks and spring may bebought to upgrade from an air shock, in which case they rider may havetoo little information to know which strength spring to order.

Typically, suspensions are most effective when, at rest, the vehicleplus passenger(s) cause about 20 to 30% sag in the suspension spring(s).Sag may refer to the percentage of travel being used by the suspendedsystem when sitting still. This is so that the suspension may react notonly to bumps but also to depressions in terrain. For example, if asuspended wheel has 8 inches of possible travel, the suspension springforce may be such that at rest, the vehicle was sitting about 2 inchesinto the travel. In that way, the wheel could travel up from rest about6 inches, and travel down from rest about 2 inches. This may be howsmall vibrations are smoothed out as the wheel travels up and downwithin its suspended travel. Coil shocks usually include a threaded ringfor preloading the coil. However, preloading may not be the same asusing a stiffer spring. Preloading a spring that is too soft mightcorrect the sag amount, but may not compensate for proper travel. Forexample, if a 400 lb/in spring was too soft for a particular rider,which may lead the rider to preload the spring 10%, that would likelyresult in 40 pounds of force at rest. That would mean that at 2 inchesof full shock travel, the total load may be approximately 840 pounds(2×400+40). However, a 450 lb/in spring with no preload may haveapproximately 900 pounds (2×450) of force at 2 inches of shock travel,and the forces at every point between 0 inches and 2 inches would likelybe entirely different. Furthermore, most shocks may only be capable ofpreloading a maximum of about 5%. Mountain bike shocks may be designedfor as little preload as is necessary to take play out of the system. Inthe first example, the rider using the preloaded 400 lb/in spring mightbottom out their suspension on big hits and there may be no way tocompensate by using more preload without causing other problems such astoo little sag. Heavy preload may also cause constant spring load evenwhen the rider is not using the bike, which may prematurely reduce coillife.

In addition to the foregoing problems, it may be difficult for the riderhaving a full suspension mountain bike with the wrong coil spring to buythe correct spring on the first try. For example, if the rider has a 500lb/in coil spring on their bike and the rider realizes that the 500lb/in coil spring is too stiff, there may be a question as to themagnitude by which the spring is too stiff, e.g., should the replacementspring be a 350 lb/in coil spring, a 400 lb/in coil spring, or a 450lb/in coil spring? If the rider buy a 450 lb/in coil spring, the ridermight find that the coil spring is still too stiff, and now the ridermay need to buy yet another coil spring. Or, if the rider started with a500 lb/in coil spring that felt too stiff and replaced it with a 400lb/in coil spring that felt a little soft, should the rider then buy a450 lb/in coil spring when it might be too stiff? While manufacturersgive guidelines for spring rate, there may be so many variables thatinfluence spring rate, that the estimations are rough. Such variablesmay include rider preference, body weight, rider weight distribution(front/rear bias), setup of bike such as stem length and fore/aft saddleposition, type of terrain, and riding aggressiveness.

Furthermore, there may be a big difference between springs that have a50 lb/in spring rate differential. Along these lines, the rider's idealspring rate may fall between two 50 lb/in increments. Along these lines,even an increment much smaller than 50 lb/in, such as 10 lb/in, may makea noticeable difference. However, it may be impractical for a company tooffer extremely fine spring rate increments, partly because it wouldlikely be expensive and time consuming for a rider to determine theirideal spring rate. Thus, springs that may be available in 50 lb/inincrements may result in a rider not finding the optimal suspension.

Another problem commonly associated with finding an ideal spring ratemay include manufacturing tolerances of coil springs. A spring that maybe intended to be 400 lb/in might actually be 390 or 410 lb/in.Furthermore, a spring from one manufacturer could be noticeablydifferent than a supposedly similar spring from another manufacturer. Arider that likes a steel spring that is supposedly 400 lb/in could beseverely disappointed if they ordered a lightweight titanium replacementspring that is supposedly 400 lb/in. The two springs could be 20 lb/indifferent from each other because of manufacturing tolerances.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an adjustment system whichallows for selective adjustment of a spring rate for a coil spring for amountain bike or motorcycle. Various aspects of the present disclosureaddress this particular need, as will be discussed in more detail below.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided an adjustment system for use with a damper of a bikesuspension. The adjustment system may comprise a coil spring engageablewith the damper and extending about a spring axis. The coil springincludes an end coil and an adjacent coil extending helically away fromthe end coil to define a gap between the end coil and the adjacent coilin a direction parallel to the spring axis. The coil spring furtherincludes a first engagement element formed on at least one of the endcoil and the adjacent coil. The adjustment system may additionallyinclude an insert having a second engagement element engageable with thefirst engagement element. The insert occupies a portion of the gap andcontacts the end coil and the adjacent coil to mitigate compression ofthe adjacent coil toward the end coil when the second engagement elementis engaged with the first engagement element.

The first engagement element may include a groove formed on the at leastone of the end coil and the adjacent coil. The second engagement elementmay include a protrusion complimentary to the groove.

The size of the gap formed in the coil spring may increase as theadjacent coil extend portions away from the end coil.

The insert may include a first surface and a second surface, with thefirst surface contacting the end coil and the second surface contactingthe adjacent coil when the first engagement element is engaged with thesecond engagement element. The insert may include a first end portionand a second end portion, with both the first surface and the secondsurface extending between the first and second end portions. A distancebetween the first and second surfaces may vary between the first endportion and the second end portion.

The insert may be a first insert, and the adjustment system may furthercomprise a second insert larger than the first insert. The first insertand the second insert may be interchangeably engageable with the coilspring. The second insert may be sized to occupy a larger portion of thegap than the first insert when the second insert is engaged with thecoil spring.

The insert may be a first insert, and the adjustment system may furthercomprise a second insert engageable with the first insert. The firstinsert and second insert may be engageable with the coil spring when thefirst insert is engaged with the second insert. The first insert mayinclude a tongue and the second insert may include a groove sized toreceive the tongue of the first insert to facilitate engagement betweenthe first insert and the second insert.

The coil spring may include a second engagement element engageable witha second insert.

According to another embodiment, the adjustment system includes a coilspring engageable with a damper. The coil spring includes a helical bodyincluding a plurality of coils, with the coil spring being associatedwith a base spring rate. The adjustment system may additionally includea collar rotatable relative to the coil spring. The collar includes aperipheral wall and a body extending from the peripheral wall. The bodymay contact an adjacent pair of the plurality of coils to mitigatecompression of the adjacent pair of the plurality of coils to define aneffective spring rate equal to or greater than the base spring rate, thebody being moveable along the helical body as the collar is rotatedrelative to the coil spring, the effective spring rate being adjustableby movement of the body relative to the plurality of coils.

The coil spring may include a first end portion, and the adjustmentsystem may additionally include a base engageable with the first endportion of the coil spring. The collar may be rotatable relative to thebase and transitional between a first position and a second position.The collar may have an abutment portion contacting the base when thecollar is in the first position, with the abutment portion of the collarmoving out of contact with the base as the collar is transitioned fromthe first position toward the second position. The base may include anindicator displaying effective spring rate information based on arelative rotational position of the collar relative to the base. Theeffective spring rate of the coil spring may increase as the collar isrotated from the first position toward the second position. Theeffective spring rate may be equal to the base spring rate when thecollar is in the first position. The base may include a first surfaceand a second surface spaced from the first surface. The second surfacemay be complimentary in shape to a portion of the helical body so as toextend portion along the portion of the helical body when the base isengaged with the coil spring.

The peripheral wall may completely circumnavigate the coil spring whenthe collar is engaged with the coil spring.

According to another embodiment, there is provided an insert for usewith a damper of a bike suspension and a coil spring engageable with thedamper and extending about a spring axis. The coil spring may include anend coil and an adjacent coil extending away from the end coil to definea gap therebetween. The insert may include a first surface positionablein contact with the end coil, and a second surface positionable incontact with the adjacent coil. The insert may further include a secondengagement element engageable with the first engagement element. Theinsert may be sized and structured to occupy a portion of the gap andmitigate compression of the adjacent coil toward the end coil when thesecond engagement element is engaged with the first engagement element.

According to another embodiment, there is provided an adjustment systemfor use with a damper of a bike suspension. The adjustment systemincludes a coil spring engageable with the damper, with the coil springhaving helical body including a plurality of coils, and being associatedwith a base spring rate. The adjustment system further includes a wedgeinsert engageable with the coil spring, and a body engageable with thecoil spring and moveable relative to the coil spring and the wedgeinsert. The body contacts adjacent coils on the coil spring to mitigatecompression of the coils to generate an effective spring rate of thecoil spring greater than the base spring rate. The body is moveablerelative to the coil spring between a first position and a secondposition, with the effective spring rate increasing as the body movesfrom the first position toward the second position.

The wedge insert may extend between a first pair of coils on the coilspring to mitigate compression between the first pair of coils, and thebody may extend between a second pair of coils on the coil spring tomitigate compression between the second pair of coils.

The body may move helically away for the first pair of coils as the bodytransitions from the first position toward the second position.

The body and the wedge insert may include complimentary engagementelements to facilitate selective incremental adjustment of the bodyrelative to the wedge insert. The complimentary engagement elements mayinclude a plurality of grooves formed on one of the body and the wedgeinsert, and a tab formed on the other one of the body and the wedgeinsert. The tab may be formed on the body. The body may include a wall,and the tab may be moveable relative to the wall between a firstposition associated with the tab residing within one of the plurality ofgrooves, and a second position associated with the tab being removedfrom the plurality of grooves.

According to another embodiment, the adjustment system may includeinsert having a support surface for interfacing with a coil extendingaway from an end coil. The support surface may include a first regionand a second region. The second region may extend beyond the firstregion and gradually move away from supporting the adjacent coil whenthe adjacent coil is undeflected, but gradually support the adjacentcoil as the adjacent coil becomes deflected. The second region of thesupport surface may be referred to as a deflection support surface. Byconfiguring the support surface to include separate first and secondregions, the insert may ensure that the coil bends in a more uniform wayto aid in keeping the active coils relatively concentric in order toprevent interference between the coil and the damper and in order toprovide a more linear spring rate.

According to yet a further embodiment, there is provided an adjustmentsystem for use with a damper of a bike suspension. The adjustment systemincludes a coil spring engageable with the damper and extending about aspring axis. The coil spring includes an end coil, and an adjacent coilextending helically away from the end coil to define a gap between theend coil and the adjacent coil in a direction parallel to the springaxis. The adjustment system further includes an insert insertable withinthe gap to mitigate compression of the adjacent coil toward the endcoil. The insert includes a support surface including a first region anda second region, with the insert being sized and structured such thatwhen the coil spring is at rest and the insert is inserted within thegap, the first region contacts the adjacent coil and the second regionis spaced from the adjacent coil, and when the coil spring is under aprescribed compressive force, both the first and second regions contactthe adjacent coil.

The first region of the support surface may define a first helix angleand the second region of the support surface may defines a second helixangle different from the first helix angle. The second helix angle maybe less than the first helix angle. The adjacent coil may define a coilhelix angle substantially equal to the first helix angle. The firstregion of the support surface may define a first helix angle and thesecond region of the support surface may include a distal end whichdefines a second helix angle smaller than the first helix angle.

The insert may include a first body and a second body connectable to thefirst body. The insert may extend at least 180 degrees relative to thecoil. The first body may include a plurality of grooves and the secondbody may include a protrusion selectively positional in a correspondingone of the plurality of grooves to selectively adjust a position of thesecond body relative to the first body.

The coil spring may include a first engagement element formed on atleast one of the end coil and the adjacent coil, and the insert mayinclude a second engagement element engageable with the first engagementelement. The first engagement element may include a groove formed on theat least one of the end coil and the adjacent coil. The secondengagement element may include a protrusion complimentary to the groove.

At least a portion of the second region may be spaced from the adjacentcoil by at least 1 mm when the coil spring is at rest and the insert isinserted within the gap of the coil spring.

The support surface may be of a concave configuration.

The present disclosure will be best understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of a prior art shock used formountain bikes and motorcycles;

FIG. 2 is an upper perspective view of a coil spring with a pair ofclosed and ground end portions;

FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view of a first embodiment of anadjustment system including the coil spring of FIG. 2 with a wedgeinsert engaged therewith for adjusting an effective spring rate of thecoil spring;

FIG. 4 is an upper perspective top view of the wedge insert of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5-7 are enlarged, lower perspective views depicting installationof the wedge insert into the coil spring;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the first embodiment of the adjustmentsystem;

FIG. 9 is a section view of the first embodiment of the adjustmentsystem with the wedge insert engaged with the coil spring;

FIG. 10 is an upper perspective view of several wedge inserts in avariety of sizes;

FIG. 10A is a graph showing the effective spring rate associated withthe various wedge inserts;

FIG. 11 is an upper perspective view the various wedge inserts engagedwith the coil spring for adjusting the adjustment system from weaker tostronger spring effective rates;

FIG. 12 is a lower perspective view of the coil spring with wedgeinserts installed on each closed end portion of the coil spring;

FIG. 13 is an upper perspective view a plurality of block inserts in avariety of sizes for use in an alternative embodiment of the adjustmentsystem, each block insert being engageable with the coil spring toadjust an effective spring rate thereof;

FIG. 14 is an upper perspective view of the various inserts blocks ofFIG. 13 engaged with the coil spring for adjusting the adjustment systemfrom weaker to stronger effective spring rates;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of some of the alternative adjustmentsystems depicted in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an upper perspective, exploded view of a second embodiment ofthe adjustment system including a coil spring, a rotatable collar, and abase;

FIG. 17 is side view of the base and coil spring of FIG. 16, with thebase installed at an end portion of the coil spring;

FIG. 18 is a partially exploded, lower perspective view of theadjustment system of FIG. 16 adjusted to its weakest effective springrate setting;

FIG. 19 is a partially exploded, lower perspective view of the secondembodiment of the adjustment system, adjusted to a 15 lb/in strongereffective spring rate setting relative to the position depicted in FIG.18;

FIG. 20 is a lower perspective view the second embodiment of theadjustment system adjusted to its weakest effective spring rate setting;

FIG. 21 is a lower perspective view of the second embodiment of theadjustment system adjusted to a 5 lb/in stronger effective spring ratesetting relative to that shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a lower perspective view of the second embodiment of theadjustment system adjusted to a 10 lb/in stronger effective spring ratesetting relative to that shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is a lower perspective view of the second embodiment of theadjustment system adjusted to a 25 lb/in stronger effective spring ratesetting relative to that shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 24 is a lower perspective view of the second embodiment of theadjustment system adjusted to a 45 lb/in stronger effective spring ratesetting relative to that shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 25 is a lower perspective view of the second embodiment of theadjustment system adjusted to a 55 lb/in stronger effective spring ratesetting relative to that shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 26 is a bottom view of the second embodiment of the adjustmentsystem adjusted to its weakest effective spring rate setting;

FIG. 27 is a side view of the second embodiment of the adjustment systemadjusted to its weakest effective spring rate setting;

FIG. 28 is a section view of the second embodiment of the adjustmentsystem adjusted to its weakest effective spring rate setting;

FIG. 29 is a bottom view of the second embodiment of the adjustmentsystem adjusted to a 15 lb/in stronger effective spring rate settingrelative to that shown in FIG. 26;

FIG. 30 is a side view of the second embodiment of the adjustment systemadjusted to a 15 lb/in stronger effective spring rate setting relativeto that shown in FIG. 27;

FIG. 31 is an upper perspective, section view of the second embodimentof the adjustment system adjusted to a 15 lb/in stronger effectivespring rate setting relative to that shown in FIG. 28;

FIG. 32 is a bottom view of the second embodiment of the adjustmentsystem adjusted to a 55 lb/in stronger effective spring rate settingrelative to that shown in FIG. 26;

FIG. 33 is a side view of the second embodiment of the adjustment systemadjusted to a 55 lb/in stronger effective spring rate setting relativeto that shown in FIG. 27;

FIG. 34 is a section view of the second embodiment of the adjustmentsystem adjusted to a 55 lb/in stronger effective spring rate settingrelative to that shown in FIG. 28;

FIG. 35 is an exploded, upper perspective view of a third embodiment ofthe adjustment system including a coil spring and a wedge insert;

FIG. 36 is an upper perspective view of the third embodiment of theadjustment system with the wedge insert engaged with the coil spring toincrease the effective spring rate of the coil spring;

FIG. 37 is an upper perspective view of a shock with the coil springinstalled and in the lowest spring rate condition;

FIG. 38 is an upper perspective view of the shock with the firstembodiment of the adjustment system installed in a medium spring ratecondition;

FIG. 39 is an upper perspective view of the shock with the secondembodiment of the adjustment system installed and in the lowest springrate condition;

FIG. 40 is an upper perspective view of the shock with the secondembodiment of the adjustment system installed and in a medium springrate condition;

FIG. 41 is a lower perspective view of another embodiment of aselectively sizable wedge insert for an adjustment system;

FIG. 42 is an upper perspective exploded view of another embodiment ofthe adjustment system;

FIG. 43 is an upper perspective view of the adjustment system of FIG. 42adjusted to a lowest spring rate condition;

FIG. 44 is an upper perspective view of the adjustment system of FIG. 42adjusted to a medium spring rate condition;

FIG. 45 is an upper perspective view of the adjustment system of FIG. 42adjusted to the highest spring rate condition;

FIG. 46 is a front view of another embodiment of the adjustment systemincluding a spring, a wedge insert, and a body moveably engageable withthe wedge insert, the body being in a first position;

FIG. 47 is a front view of the adjustment system of FIG. 46, the bodybeing moved to a second position relative to the first position shown inFIG. 46;

FIG. 48 is an upper perspective, exploded view of the adjustment systemof FIG. 46;

FIGS. 49a-c are upper perspective views of various alternativeembodiment wedge inserts engaged with the coil spring for adjusting theadjustment system from stronger to weaker spring effective rates;

FIGS. 50a-c are upper perspective views of various alternativeembodiment wedge inserts engaged with the coil spring for adjusting theadjustment system from strong to weaker spring effective rates;

FIG. 51 is a front view of a lower portion of a spring compressed to itssolid height;

FIG. 52 is a front view of a lower portion of a spring with analternative embodiment wedge compressed to its solid height;

FIG. 53 is a front view of a spring with an alternative embodiment wedgeinstalled;

FIG. 54 is an enlarged front view of a portion of the spring shown inFIG. 53 with the alternative embodiment wedge installed;

FIG. 55 is a bottom view of an alternative embodiment with a singlepiece alternative embodiment wedge installed;

FIG. 56 is a side view of an alternative embodiment with a single piecealternative embodiment wedge installed;

FIG. 57 is a section view of the alternative embodiment taken withinplane 57-57 shown in FIG. 55;

FIG. 58 is a section view of the alternative embodiment taken withinplane 58-58 shown in FIG. 55;

FIG. 59 is a section view of the alternative embodiment taken withinplane 59-59 shown in FIG. 55;

FIG. 60 is a bottom view of a two-piece alternative embodiment wedgeinstalled on a coil spring;

FIG. 61 is a side view of the two-piece alternative embodiment wedgeinstalled on the coil spring;

FIG. 62 is a section view of the alternative embodiment taken withinplane 62-62 shown in FIG. 60;

FIG. 63 is a section view of the alternative embodiment taken withinplane 63-63 shown in FIG. 60;

FIG. 64 is a section view of the alternative embodiment taken withinplane 64-64 shown in FIG. 60;

FIG. 65 is an exploded view of a spring with an alternative embodimentrotational spring rate adjustment system;

FIG. 66 is an enlarged perspective view of the rotational spring rateadjustment system of FIG. 65 adjusted to a minimum spring rate;

FIG. 67 is an enlarged perspective view of the rotational spring rateadjustment system of FIG. 65 adjusted to a medium spring rate;

FIG. 68 is an enlarged perspective view of the rotational spring rateadjustment system of FIG. 65 adjusted to a maximum spring rate;

FIG. 69 is a bottom view of the rotational spring rate adjustment systemof FIG. 65 adjusted to its maximum spring rate;

FIG. 70 is a side view of the rotational spring rate adjustment systemof FIG. 69 adjusted to its maximum spring rate;

FIG. 71 is a section view of the rotational spring rate adjustmentsystem taken within plane 71-71 shown in FIG. 69;

FIG. 72 is a section view of the rotational spring rate adjustmentsystem taken within plane 72-72 shown in FIG. 69; and

FIG. 73 is a section view of the rotational spring rate adjustmentsystem taken within plane 73-73 shown in FIG. 69.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and thedetailed description to indicate the same elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendportioned drawings is intend portioned as a description of certainembodiments of an adjustment system for a coil spring and is not intendportioned to represent the only forms that may be developed or utilized.The description sets forth the various structure and/or functions inconnection with the illustrated embodiments, but it is to be understood,however, that the same or equivalent structure and/or functions may beaccomplished by different embodiments that are also intend portioned tobe encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. It is furtherunderstood that the use of relational terms such as first and second,and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity from anotherwithout necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationshipor order between such entities.

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to adjustment of shockfor a bike by selectively placing a body between two adjacent coils in acoil spring of the shock. The body is rigid enough to mitigatecompression of the adjacent coils toward each other, thereby resultingin an increase in the effective spring rate of the spring. The positionof the body can effectively shorten or lengthen the spring, to allow forvariance in the effective spring rate, without adjusting the actuallength of the spring. Therefore, by selectively placing the bodyrelative to the coil spring, a user may quickly and easily adjust theeffective spring rate.

As used herein, the term “bike” broadly refers to bicycles, motorcycles,scooters, or other two-wheeled vehicles. In this regard, a bike may bepowered by pedals or by a motor.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and arenot for purposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1 shows a prior art shock,which may be used on a bike. As used herein, the term “bike” is intendedto broadly encompass both mountain bikes and motorcycles. The shockgenerally includes a coil spring 180 and a damper 190, with a portion ofthe damper 190 extending through the coil spring 180. The coil spring180 is captured between a preload ring 192, which is externally threadedto an upper body 183 of the damper 190, and a flange 185 located at theend portion of a damper rod 187, which may reciprocate relative to theupper body 183 to absorb shock. Typically, the shock includes opposedmounts 194, 196 for mounting the shock to the vehicle (e.g., themountain bike, motorcycle, etc.). Mount 194 may be attached to the bikeor motorcycle frame, and mount 196 may be attached to the suspendportioned swing arm or other suspension linkage component of themountain bike or motorcycle. While the rider is sitting on the mountainbike or motorcycle, preload ring 192 is used to adjust for smalldifferences in spring 180 overall length and to adjust preload in orderto optimize the suspension sag. For instance, twisting the preload ring192 relative to the body 183 in a first rotational direction, causingthe preload ring 192 to move toward flange 185, shortens the length ofthe spring 180, thereby creating more preload. Conversely, twisting thepreload ring 192 relative to the body 183 in an opposing secondrotational direction, causes the preload ring 192 to move away fromflange 185 to lengthen the length of the spring 180, thereby decreasingthe preload.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, a first embodiment of an adjustmentsystem 120 is depicted and generally comprises a coil spring 30 and awedge insert 12. The coil spring 30 may be engageable with a damper andmay extend portion about a spring axis 35. Coil spring 30 may be atypical coil spring used on mountain bike suspensions, with the primarydistinction being that spring 30 includes a groove 32 (e.g., a firstengagement element), the importance of which will be described in moredetail below.

Coil spring 30 includes a body having a pair of closed and ground endportions 34, 36 and a number of coils disposed therebetween.Furthermore, the body of the coil spring 30 may be of a thickness so asto define an outer diameter, “OD” (see FIG. 8), and an inner diameter“ID.” Each coil of the coil spring 30 may be defined by 360 degrees ofrotation of the coil spring 30. For instance, the exemplary embodimentdepicted in FIG. 2 includes 6.5 coils, although it is understood thatthe scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In a givencoil spring 30, the end portion-most coils 37 may be referred to as the“end coils” and the coils 38 immediately adjacent the end coils 37 maybe referred to as “adjacent coils.” The end coils 37 shown in FIG. 2include a generally planar end portion surfaces, residing in respectiveend portion planes. The adjacent coils 38 extend portion helically awayfrom the respective end coils 37 to define a gap 39 between a given endcoil 37 and the corresponding adjacent coil 38. The coil spring 30 isassociated with a base spring rate, which may be a function of coilcount, spring diameter, wire diameter and material.

The groove 32 is shown as being formed on a portion of the end coil 37which faces the adjacent coil 38, with the groove 32 extending in aradial direction relative to the spring axis 35. In this regard, thegroove 32 may extend portion generally perpendicularly relative to thespring axis 35. While the exemplary embodiment of the coil spring 30includes the groove 32 on the end coil 37, it is contemplated that inother embodiments, the groove 32 may be formed on a portion of theadjacent coil 38 facing the end coil 37. In this regard, the groove 32may be located on any portion of the coil spring 30 which may interfacewith the wedge insert 12.

FIG. 3 shows wedge insert 12 installed in spring 30 for purposes ofincreasing an effective spring rate of the coil spring 30 by mitigatingcompression of the adjacent coil 38 toward end coil 37. Mitigatingcompression of the adjacent coil toward the end coil 37 has the effectof deactivating a portion of the adjacent coil 38. The “effective springrate” is larger than the base spring rate, and refers to the operationalspring rate of the coil spring 30 when the wedge insert 12 is engagedtherewith. The effective spring rate may be correlated to the size ofthe wedge insert 12, with larger wedge inserts 12 being associated withan effective spring rate that is higher in magnitude than the effectivespring rate associated with smaller wedge inserts 12. However, bothsmaller and larger wedge inserts 12, when engaged with the coil spring30, produce an effective spring rate that is greater than the basespring rate.

Wedge insert 12 may be made of a fiber reinforced polymer such as 30%glass filled nylon in order to be both light, inexpensive, and strongenough to be disposable in compression when engaged with the spring 30.In the example shown, wedge 12 would weigh less than 3 grams, which isnegligible compared to spring 30 that may weigh around 500 grams.Alternatively, wedge 12 could be successfully made of many differentsuitable materials including metals, carbon fiber, thermoplastics,thermosets, firm elastomers, or other materials known to those skilledin the art. Spring 30 can be made of steel, titanium, or other suitablematerial.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 4-9, one embodiment of wedge insert12 includes a top surface 24, a bottom surface 26, and a protrusion 22(e.g., a second engagement element) extending from the bottom surface26. Top and bottom surfaces 24 and 26 may have helical curves which fitthe closed end portion 36 of spring 30. In this regard, the wedge insert12 may be complimentary in shape to the gap 39, with the top surface 24being complimentary to the shape and size of the adjacent coil 38 andthe bottom surface 26 being complimentary in shape to the end coil 37.Along these lines, if the coil spring 30 is formed of a wire having acircular cross section, the top and bottom surfaces 24, 26 of the wedgeinsert 12 may be concave to accommodate the rounded configuration of thecoils. The wedge insert 12 may additionally include an inner wall 27 andan outer wall 28 separated from each other by the top and bottomsurfaces 24, 26. Both the inner wall 27 and the outer wall 28 may bearcuate in configuration, with an internal surface of the inner wall 27being concave, and an external surface of the outer wall 28 beingconvex. The wedge insert 12 may further be configured to define a narrowend portion 23 and a wide end portion 25 and a length as the arcuatedistance between the narrow end portion 23 and the wide end portion 25along a midline of the wedge insert 12 (i.e., between the inner wall 27and outer wall 28).

When installed, the protrusion 22 formed on the wedge insert 12 isadvanced into groove 32, thereby engaging with groove 32 formed on thespring 30 and allowing the wedge insert 12 to assume a locked positionrelative to the coil spring 30. When the wedge insert 12 is in thelocked position, the bottom surface 26 of the wedge insert 12 contacts aportion of the end coil 37, and the top surface 24 of the wedge insert12 contacts a portion of the adjacent coil 38. Being that spring 30 is acoil spring, the compressive nature of the spring 30 mitigatesinadvertent dislodging of the wedge insert 12 without eitherintentionally sliding wedge insert 12 out of its locked position orintentionally spreading apart the closed end portion 36 with a tool suchas a flat blade screw driver.

FIGS. 5-9 show the ease of installing the wedge insert 12 into spring30. In FIG. 5, the wedge insert 12 is positioned adjacent the gap 39,with the inner wall 27 of the wedge insert 12 facing the spring 30. InFIG. 6, the wedge insert 12 is moved into the gap 39, between the endcoil 37 and the adjacent coil 38. In FIG. 7, the narrow end portion 23of the wedge insert 12 is moved toward a narrow end portion of the gap39, until the protrusion 22 is located in the groove 32 formed on thespring 30. The movement of the wedge insert 12 within the gap 39 toengage the protrusion 22 with the groove 32 may be rotational movementof the wedge insert 12 relative to the spring 30.

FIG. 10 shows a variety of wedge inserts 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e,12 f, which are of varying lengths to deactivate increasingly largeramounts of an active coil. Along these lines, the narrow end portions ofeach wedge insert may be similarly sized, however, the wide end portionsmay have differing heights, with each progressively larger insert havinga progressively larger height at its wide end portion so as to occupy alarger amount of the gap 39. For a 450 lb/in spring, theory and actualtest results show that wedge 12 a may add about 10 lb/in, wedge 12 b mayadd about 20 lb/in, etc. Wedges 12 a-f would likely cost a smallfraction of spring 30, yet would effectively provide the user with theability to fine tune a spring rate that works best for them withoutbuying more springs. Also, it is much easier to remove and install awedge insert 12 than to remove and install an entirely new spring forpurposes of varying the spring rate. Wedges 12 a-f may correct forspring manufacturing strength tolerances, increase the likelihood thatthe user has the right spring, and makes it easier to choose the rightspring if the original spring is too stiff. If the user wanted to ordera custom titanium spring, for example, they could first fine tune theiroriginal spring with wedges in order to learn the exact spring rate thatis best for them. FIG. 10A is a graph showing the effective spring rateassociated with the various wedge inserts 12 a-f used in adjustmentsystem 120. It is understood that the effective spring rate increaseincrements of 10 pounds/inch are only an example, and that wedge insertsof other sizes could be made to decrease or increase the spring rateincrements or range of increase.

Referring now to FIG. 11, there is shown seven springs 30. The far leftspring 30 is without a wedge insert installed. The other springs 30have, in order from left to right, wedges 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e,and 12 f installed. See the table in FIG. 10A for the spring ratedifferences. Note that increasing the spring rate in this way may addstress to the spring 30, so it is important to design the spring 30 suchthat even with the largest wedge 12 f added, the stress will be withinthe limits for the use intend portioned.

Referring now FIG. 12, it is contemplated that the adjustment system 120may include two wedge inserts coupled to the spring 30. For instance,wedge insert 12 b may be installed adjacent closed end portion 36, whilewedge insert 12 c may be installed adjacent closed end portion 34. Inthis configuration, the 450 lb/in spring would have a spring rate of 500lb/in (20+30). Thus, the adjustment system 120 is not limited to the useof a single wedge insert; rather both ends of the spring 30 may beengaged with respective wedge inserts to allow for greater adjustabilityof the effective spring rate.

FIGS. 13-15 show alternative embodiment of adjustment system 130 whichincludes spring 50 and block inserts 40-45, with each block insert 40-45having a protrusion 46 formed thereon. The function of the block inserts40-45 is similar to wedge inserts 12 a-f, but in a more minimal size.Furthermore, spring 50 may include multiple grooves 51-56 (56 is hidden)to fit block inserts 40-45, respectively. The grooves 51-56 may beformed on at least one of the end coil or the adjacent coil, with thegrooves 51-56 being spaced apart from each other. In one embodiment, thegrooves 51-56 may be evenly spaced from each other, while in otherembodiments, the grooves 51-56 may be separated by varying distances.The grooves 51-56 are sized and structured to receive the protrusionformed on one of the block inserts 40-45. For example, protrusion 46 onblock insert 40 fits into groove 51 formed on spring 50.

Each block insert 40-45 is sized and structured to accommodate arespective portion of the gap formed between the end coil and theadjacent coil when the block inserts 40-45 are engaged with the spring50. Block insert 40, being the smallest block insert, may occupy thenarrowest portion of the gap, while block insert 41, being next in thesize sequence of block inserts, may occupy the adjacent portion of thegap, and so on. Larger block inserts are associated with a largerincrease in the effective spring rate than smaller blocks, as the largerblock inserts reduce compression of a larger percentage of the adjacentcoil, thereby deactivating a larger percentage of the adjacent coil. Itis contemplated that the block inserts 40-45 may be individually engagedwith the spring 50, and thus, a user may interchange the block inserts40-45 by swapping out one block insert 40-45 and replacing it withanother. However, in other embodiments, multiple block inserts 40-45 maybe engaged with the spring 50 without departing from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 16, there is depicted an exploded view ofalternative embodiment of an adjustment system 140, which isspecifically configured to allow for selectively incremental adjustmentof the effective spring rate through rotation of a collar 70 relative toa spring 60. The adjustment system 140 defines a main axis 77, aboutwhich the spring 60 and collar 70 are disposed. Spring 60 includes apair of end portions 64, 66, with end portion 64 being closed andground, and end portion 66 being open and defining a gap 65. The coilpositioned at the open end portion 66 is referred to as end coil 61,while the coil adjacent end coil 61 is referred to as adjacent coil 63.Open end portion 66 includes a groove 62 and an end surface 68.

Collar 70 includes a peripheral wall 75 disposed about the main axis 77,and block/body 72 extending radially inward from an inner surface ofperipheral wall 75. The peripheral wall 75 includes a top surface 79 anda bottom surface 78. Similarly, the block 72 includes top and bottomsurfaces 74 and 73, with the block 72 being sized to fit closely betweenadjacent coils of spring 60. Collar 70 may be structured to enhance auser's grip on the collar 70 for twisting or rotating the collar 70relative to the spring 60. For instance, the collar 70 may include ribs71 protruding outward from the peripheral wall 75. As shown in theexemplary embodiment, the ribs 71 may extend generally parallel to themain axis 77. The collar 70 may additionally include a stop 76, whichmay extend radially inward from the peripheral wall 75 at or adjacentthe bottom surface 78.

The adjustment system 140 may further includes a base 90 disposed aboutthe main axis 77 and engageable with the open end portion 66 of thespring 60. According to one embodiment, the base 90 includes a topsurface 97 and a bottom surface 98. The bottom surface 98 may begenerally planar, and extend generally perpendicularly to the main axis77. The top surface 97 may be angled relative to the bottom surface 98,such that the distance between the top surface 97 and bottom surface 98varies. A peripheral wall 95 may be disposed about the main axis 77 andextend between the top surface 97 and the bottom surface 98.Furthermore, the peripheral wall 95 terminates at one end to define anend surface 94. A bump or protrusion 92 may be formed on the top surface97 adjacent the end surface 94. The base 90 additionally includes a pairof abutment shoulders 93, 99, extending generally parallel to the mainaxis 77 and circumferentially spaced from each other. The pair ofabutment shoulders 93, 99 interface with the stop 76 on the collar 70 todefine a rotational range of motion of the collar 70 relative to thebase 90, as will be described in more detail below. The base 90 mayadditionally include indicator 104, which helps identify the addedspring rate. The indicator 104 may include numbers or other indiciaprinted, etched or otherwise displayed on the peripheral surface 95 ofthe base 90.

When the adjustment system 140 is assembled, the base 90 resides withinthe collar 70, and the protrusion 92 on the base 90 is engaged with thegroove 62 on the spring 60. When the base 90 is engaged with the spring60, the base 90 may support and deactivate most of the first coil (e.g.,end coil) of open end portion 66. In this regard, the top surface 97 ofthe base 90 may extend along the first coil as it extends helically fromthe end surface 68. As such, the angular configuration of the topsurface 97 relative to the bottom surface 98 may be complimentary to thehelical configuration of the spring 60.

Rotation of the collar 70 relative to spring 60 causes block 72 to beadvanced through the gap 65 between the end coil 61 and the adjacentcoil 63 so as to move along spring 60 like a threaded fastener. Ascollar 70 is rotated, the active coil closest to base 90 increasinglybecomes inactive, increasing the spring rate. The spring rate remainslinear. Collar 70 can deactivate about 75% of a coil in adjustmentsystem 140, though depending on the design, collar 70 can deactivate upto one full coil and in infinitely small increments. With the selective,incremental rotational adjustment associated with adjustment system 140,the effective spring rate is so easy to adjust that a mountain biker,for example, could optimize their spring rate for specific trails. Whileincrements of 5 pounds/inch are shown, collar 70 can be twisted betweenincrements to any position between minimum and maximum.

The adjustment system 140 is configured such that the collar 70 isrotatable relative to the base 90 between a first position (e.g., a zeroboost position), and a second position (e.g., a maximum boost position).In the first position, bottom surface 78 of collar 70 is coincident withbottom surface 98 of base 90. Stop 76 of collar 70 allows block 72 torotate a prescribed amount along base 90. When the collar 70 is in thefirst position, the stop 76 is abutted against first abutment shoulder93, and when the collar 70 is in the second position, the stop 76 isabutted against second abutment shoulder 99. In the example shown,collar 70 can rotate between positions correlated to zero-magnitudeincrease of effective spring rate and 55 lb/in increase of effectivespring rate on a 450 lb/in spring.

FIG. 17 shows a side view of adjustment system 140 with collar 70 hiddenfor purposes of more clearly depicting the engagement between the base90 and the spring 60. As can be seen in FIG. 17, when base 90 is engagedwith the spring 60, most of end coil 61 is supported and deactivated bybase 90.

FIG. 18 shows adjustment system 140 with base 90 exploded from theassembly, with the collar 70 being shown in the minimum strengthsetting, i.e., the first position. Block 72 of collar 70, in combinationwith base 90 (when the base 90 is engaged with the spring 60), is showndeactivating about one coil of spring 60 open end portion 66.

FIG. 19 shows adjustment system 140 with base 90 exploded from theassembly.

Collar 70 is shown in the 15 pounds/inch added strength setting, e.g.,between the first position and the second position. Block 72 is showndeactivating the end coil 61, and a portion of adjacent coil 63.

FIGS. 20-25 show adjustment system 140 in increasingly stiffer springsettings 0, 5, 10, 25, 45, and 55 lb/in. Opening 82 formed in peripheralwall 75 of collar 70 is aligned with the indicator 104 formed on thebase 90, such that as the collar 70 is rotated relative to the base, theopening 82 exposes a portion of the indicator 104 associated with theadded spring rate so that the user knows the effective spring rateassociated with the current position of the collar 70. For example, inFIG. 21, it is easy to see that adjustment system 140 is adjusted to add5 lb/in to the spring rate. Note that as collar 70 is rotated, bottomsurface 78 of collar 70 moves away from surface 98 of base 90, becauseblock 72 moves along spring 60 coil like a thread. In other words, thebottom surface 78 of collar 70 moves in a direction parallel to the mainaxis 77 as the collar 70 transitions between the first and secondpositions.

FIGS. 26-28 depicts the adjustment system 140 in its minimum strengthposition, e.g., the first position. In this position, for example,adjustment system 140 has its minimum spring rate of about 450 lb/in asshown. Open end portion 66 of spring 60 is supported by both top surface97 of base 90 and top and bottom surfaces 74, 73 of collar 70.

FIGS. 29-31 depicts the adjustment system 140 in an intermediateposition, e.g., between the first and second positions. In the exemplaryembodiment, the adjustment system 140 in FIGS. 29-31 is adjusted to its15 pounds/inch strength position. The spring rate of adjustment system140 is about 465 lb/in or 15 lb/in higher. Block 72 of collar 70 hasmoved away from end surface 94 of base 90 and is deactivating more ofthe adjacent coil 63. Open end portion 66 of spring 60 is supported byboth top surface 97 of the base 90 and top and bottom surfaces 74, 73 ofcollar 70.

FIGS. 32-34 depicts the adjustment system 140 in its maximum strengthposition, e.g., the second position. In the exemplary embodiment, theadjustment system 140 is adjusted to its maximum 55 lb/in added strengthposition. The spring rate of adjustment system 140 is about 505 lb/in or55 pounds/inch higher than spring 110 alone. Block 72 of collar 70 hasmoved farther away from base surface 94 and is deactivating more ofspring 60 coil. Specifically, open end portion 66 of spring 60 issupported by both top surface 97 of base 90 and top and bottom surfaces74, 73 of collar 70.

Referring now to FIGS. 35 and 36 there is shown another embodiment ofadjustment system 150 generally including spring 110 and an insert 160.The insert 160 includes a flange 162, hook 164, and wedge 166. Insert160 locks onto spring 110 without spring 110 needing to have a groove.Flange 162 flexes open to allow wedge 166 to be inserted into spring 110near a closed end portion 112 of the spring 110 and when positionedcorrectly, hook 164 of insert 160 locks behind surface 114 of spring110.

Referring now to FIG. 37, there is depicted an adjustable rear shockcomprised of spring 30 installed on prior art damper 190. Because nowedge is installed on the spring 30, the spring rate is at its lowestlevel which is the base spring rate. There is a protrusion 32 forhelping to retain a wedge when installed.

FIG. 38 shows adjustment system 120 with wedge 12 installed on spring 30so that the spring rate has increased by 40 lb/in compared to withoutthe wedge. In this example, the desired spring rate between 10 and 60lb/in increase can be achieved depending on the size of the wedge thatis used.

FIG. 39 shows an adjustable rear shock comprised of adjustment system200 installed on prior art damper 190 and adjusted in the minimum springrate position. Adjustment system 200 is similar to adjustment system 140except for two primary differences. The first difference is thatadjustment system 200 includes a different indicator system thanadjustment system 140. In particular, adjustment system 140 includes anopening 82 on collar 70 that exposes indicator 104 on base 90 so thatthe user knows the spring strength setting, whereas adjustment system200 includes an opening 222 on collar 220 and indicator markings 232 onspring 230. Indicator markings 232 can be easily pad printed, forexample, on spring 230. The second difference is that collar 90 ofadjustment system 140 turns smoothly, whereas collar 220 of adjustmentsystem 200 “clicks” when turned in order to provide touch and auditoryposition feedback. That way, when adjusting the spring rate, the usercan choose to simply count the “clicks” instead of visually looking atindicator markings 232 within opening 222. To achieve this “clicking”,there are grooves 212 in base 210 and a rib 224 (not shown) on the innerdiameter of collar 220 that engage with grooves 212. Collar 220 flexesenough to cause “clicking” as rib 224 passes in and out of grooves 212.It is noted that even though there are indicator markings 232 that show5 lb/in spring rate increase, the user can choose to turn the dial toany position between the markings in order to achieve any specificspring rate desired within the possible range. FIG. 40 shows anadjustable rear shock with adjustment system 200 adjusted in a settingthat increases the spring rate by 30 lb/in. This was simply achieved bytwisting collar 220 and did not change the overall spring assemblylength and did not change the preload so that preload ring 192 does notneed to be readjusted. If necessary, the user can hold spring 230 in onehand while turning collar 220 with the other. Alternatively, base 210could have an internal thread and then preload ring 192 of damper 190could be eliminated.

FIG. 41 shows another embodiment of an adjustment system 240 (spring 30not shown), which is similar to adjustment system 120 except instead ofeach wedge being an independent component, wedges 250, 260, 270, 280,290, and 300 fit together. For example, wedge 250 has a protrusion 252and a tongue 254. To add 10 lb/in to the spring rate, only wedge 250would be added to spring 30. To add 20 lb/in to the spring rate, thenwedge 260 would be assembled to wedge 250 by fitting groove 262 overtongue 254 and then the pair installed into spring 30. In this way,wedges 270, 280, 290, and 300 can be added for more spring rateincrease. Indicators 266 identify the amount of spring rate added.

There are other embodiments that anyone skilled in the art would readilyrecognize. For example, while a protrusion on the wedge in adjustmentsystems 120, 130, and 240 engages with a groove on the spring, there aremany other ways to keep the wedge firmly in position without thepossibility of moving out of position. For example, there could be aprotrusion on the spring and a groove in the wedge. Also, while thewedges in adjustment systems 120, 130, and 240 are preferably made of arelatively rigid material such as glass filled nylon, it would bepossible to use a high durometer elastomer, although this would causethe spring rate to be non-linear. Also, while adjustment systems 140 and200 show the adjustment system on one end portion of the spring, therecould be an adjustment system on both end portions of the spring inorder to allow a larger increase in spring rate.

FIGS. 42-45 show another embodiment of an adjustment system 310 that hasrotational spring rate adjustment and is comprised of spring 30, an body320, and an wedge insert 330. Rotationally adjusted adjustment system310 works with a spring 30 that is closed on both ends, with the spring30 defining a base spring rate. Wedge insert 330 is inserted intoposition similarly to descriptions of previous embodiments. As shown inFIGS. 43-45, when the wedge insert 330 is engaged with the spring 30,the wedge insert 330 extends in an axial direction between a first coiland a second coil, and in a rotational direction by about 270 degrees.When the wedge insert 330 is inserted into the spring 30, the springrate of the system 310 is increased by virtue of the wedge insert 330mitigating compression of the first and second coils in that 270 degreezone occupied by the wedge insert 330. The increased spring rateassociated solely with insertion of the wedge insert 330 into the spring30 may be referred to as a first effective spring rate.

In addition to the wedge insert 330 being engaged with the spring 30,body 320 is also engaged with the spring 30 so as to further increasethe spring rate of the adjustment system 310 beyond the first effectivespring rate. In this regard, body 320 is snapped into position, withhelical surfaces 322 and 324 contacting adjacent coils of the spring 30.When the body 320 is snapped into position, body 320 can be slid alongthe spring 30 to any desired position within a range to achieve adesired second effective spring rate greater than the first effectivespring rate. In this respect, the body 320 may be transitioned between afirst position associated with a lowest second effective spring rate,and a second position associated with a highest second effective springrate. In the first position, shown in FIG. 43, the body 320 contacts aterminal end surface of the wedge insert 330, with the body 320effectively functioning as an extension of the wedge insert 330, suchthat the wedge insert 330 and body 320 occupy more than 270 degrees ofthe gap between the first and second coils of the spring. As the body320 moves from the first position toward the second position, the body320 may move helically along the spring 30, away from the terminal edgesurface of the wedge insert 330. As used herein, helical movement mayrefer to movement having both an axial component and a radial component,such that movement in a radial direction also results in movement in anaxial direction. When the body 320 is in the positions shown in FIGS. 44and 45, the body 320 is extending axially between the second coil andthe third coil. As the body 320 moves from the first position toward thesecond position, the body 320 is effectively deactivating more of thecoils of the spring 30, which has the effect of increasing the secondeffective spring rate of the adjustment system 310. In other words, thebody 320 and the wedge insert 330 may not only prevent compression ofthe portions of the spring 330 with which they are in direct contact,the body 320 and the wedge insert 330 may also prevent compression ofthe helical portion of the spring 330 extending between the body 320 andthe wedge insert 330. Thus, by moving the body 320 helically away fromthe wedge insert 330 a greater percentage of the spring 30 becomeseffectively incompressible, which in turn, increases the effectivespring rate.

When the body 320 reaches the second position, movement of body 320 islimited by abutment of side surface 326 on body 320 with stop 336 formedon wedge insert 330. According to one embodiment, adjustment system 310may have a rotational range of about 270 degrees of rotation, but ifstop 336 was relocated, adjustment system 310 could increase spring ratethrough an entire 360 degrees of rotation. A clicking engagement couldbe created between, for example, body 320 and wedge insert 330 orbetween body 320 and spring 30. It is also contemplated that gaugemarkings could also be added.

Referring now to FIGS. 46-48, another embodiment of an adjustment system410 is shown. Adjustment system 410 is similar to the adjustment system310 shown in FIGS. 42-45, with adjustment system 410 including a spring415, wedge insert 430, and a body 420 moveable relative to the wedgeinsert 430, with the spring 415 defining a spring axis 417. wedge insert430 is insertable into the spring 415 to contact adjacent coils andmitigate compression of those coils, thereby providing a first effectivespring rate greater than a base spring rate defined solely by the spring415.

Body 420 is also engageable with the spring 410 for providing a secondeffective spring rate greater than the first effective spring rate. Themagnitude of the second effective spring rate may be incrementallyadjusted through movement of the body 420 relative to the spring 415 andwedge insert 430. The body 420 includes an insert 421 having an uppersurface 422 and a lower surface 423, which contact respective, adjacentcoils on the spring 410. In this respect, the insert 421 is sized toextend within, and occupy, the gap formed between adjacent coils on thespring 410. The body 420 further includes an arcuate wall 424, which iscoupled to the insert 421 may be positioned outside of the spring 410(e.g., beyond the outer diameter of the spring 410) when the body 420 isengaged with the spring 420. The body 210 may further include anindicator 425, which in the exemplary embodiment, includes a spine orridge protruding outwardly from the arcuate wall 424, and extending in adirection generally parallel to the spring axis 417. The indicator 425may provide the user with an indication of the magnitude of added springrate associated with the position of the body 420 relative to the spring410. In this regard, the spring 415 may include indicia imprinted,etched, or otherwise formed on the spring 415, with such indiciacooperating with the indicator 425 to provide an indication of the addedspring rate magnitude. For instance, in FIG. 47, the indicator 425 isaligned with “20” on the spring 415 to provide notice to the user thatwhen the body 420 is in the position shown in FIG. 47, the adjustmentsystem 410 adds 20 lb/in to the base spring rate.

The body 420 and the wedge insert 430 may include complimentaryengagement elements to allow for incremental adjustment of the body 420relative to the wedge insert 430. In the exemplary embodiment, the wedgeinsert 430 includes a plurality of grooves 432 formed on an outersurface of the wedge insert 430, with each groove 432 extending in adirection generally parallel to the spring axis 417 when the wedgeinsert 430 is engaged with the spring 415. The body 420 includes a tab426 which is moveably coupled to the arcuate wall 424. The tab 426 maybend or flex relative to the arcuate wall 424 to allow the tab 424 tomove in an out of engagement with the grooves 432 as the body 420 ismoved relative to the wedge insert 430. In particular, the tab 426 maybe moved between a first position associated with the tab 426 residingwithin one of the grooves 432, and a second position associated with thetab 426 being removed from the grooves 432. In this respect, the tab 426moves in a radially inward direction as the tab 426 transitions betweenthe second position and the first position. In one embodiment, the tab426 may be biased toward the first position. The operative engagementbetween the tab 426 and the plurality of grooves 432 may produce aclicking sound resulting from the tab 426 moving in and out ofengagement with the grooves 432.

The body 420 may be transitioned relative to the wedge insert 430between a first position associated with a lowest second effectivespring rate, and a second position associated with a highest secondeffective spring rate. In the first position, the tab 426 resides withinthe groove 432 formed adjacent a narrow end 433 of the wedge insert 430.As the body 420 moves from the first position toward the secondposition, the body 420 may move helically along the spring 415, toeffectively deactivate more of the coils of the spring 415, which hasthe effect of increasing the second effective spring rate of theadjustment system 410, as described in more detail above. When the body420 reaches the second position, movement of body 420 may be limited byabutment of the tab 426 with a stop 434 formed on wedge insert 430adjacent a wide end 436.

Referring now to FIGS. 49-64, another embodiment of an adjustment system500 is shown. Adjustment system 500 is similar to the adjustment system120 shown in FIGS. 2-11 and includes a wedge 510 a-c that is engageablewith a spring 30. The primary distinction between wedges 510 a-c fromthose wedges 12 discussed above, is the configuration of the wedgesurface that interfaces with the adjacent or intermediate coil (i.e.,not the end coil). Wedge 12 a, discussed above, has an upper supportsurface 24 configured to continually contact and support the coil 38,whereas wedge 510 a has a support surface 504 a including two regions,namely, a first region 515 a and a second region 516 a. The first region515 a (e.g., a support region) is configured to continually contact andsupport the coil, while second region 516 a (e.g., a deflection region)is configured to gradually extend away from supporting the coil whenspring 30 is not deflected or compressed, thus, defining a gap X betweenthe coil and the second region 516 a. Then, as spring 30 is deflected incompression, spring 30 comes into more and more contact with secondregion 516 a, e.g., the degree of contact between the coil and thesecond region 516 a increases. In this way, the coil deflection may bebetter controlled in order to keep all the active coils concentric andprovide more predictable and linear spring rates.

When wedge 12 a of adjustment system 120, includes a non-tapered end 25,and thus ends suddenly, such that when wedge 12 a is used in certainconditions or environments, one or more coils in spring 30 may tend tobend in a way that causes the active coils to bow instead of remainingconcentric. In such conditions or environments, adjustment systems 120and 130 may function well, although adjustment system 500 may yield amore optimal performance attributable to a spring rate adjustment thattends to be more linear and predictable. Along these lines, FIG. 51shows a spring 180 (without a wedge) compressed to its solid height,with the spring 180 remaining concentric about the centerline CL-1. FIG.52 shows adjustment system 500, including spring 30 and wedge 510 ainstalled on spring 30, with spring 30 compressed to its solid heightand remaining concentric about the centerline CL-2. In this regard, theuse of the wedge 510 a with the uniquely configured upper supportsurface 504 a allows the coils in the spring 30 to maintain concentricalignment as the spring 30 transitions between a rest state and acompressed state.

FIGS. 49a-c and FIGS. 50a-c depict alternative embodiments of adjustmentsystems 500 with different wedges used for achieving different springrates in the coil spring 30. The wedges 510 a-510 c depicted in FIGS.49a-c are single piece wedges, while the wedges 520 a-520 c shown inFIGS. 50a-c are two-piece wedges having a greater effective length andmay be used to block more than one active coil. The two-piececonstruction may make manufacturing of the wedges easier and alsofacilitate insertion of the wedges into the coil than if made from asingle piece. As to the wedges shown in FIGS. 49 and 50, the order ofspring rate value from low to high are wedge 510 a, 510 b, 510 c, 520 a,520 b, and 520 c. Wedges 520 a-520 c are each comprised of a lower wedge521 a-521 c and a corresponding upper wedge 522 a-522 c. The transitionfrom the support surface first region 515 a-515 c and 528 a-528 c to thesupport surface second region 516 a-516 c and 529 a-529 c is representedby a line 513 a-513 c and 527 a-527 c. The two-piece wedges 520 a-520 cmay link together via hooks 525 a-525 c on lower wedges 521 a-c, whichengage with corresponding hooks 526 a-526 c on upper wedge 522 a-522 c.In this way, wedges 520 a-520 c may behave as single units, although thetwo-piece construction may make the wedges 520 a-c easier to install andremove than if they were manufactured as single units. Wedges 520 a-520c may be used to inactivate more than one active coil, providing an evenbigger spring rate range when including wedges 510 a-510 c whichinactivate part of one active coil.

FIGS. 55-59 show adjustment system 500 with single piece wedge 510 binstalled on coil spring 30. Referring specifically to FIG. 55, which isa bottom view of the adjustment system 500, support surface first region515 b extends through an angle A1 (see FIG. 55), and then the supportsurface second region 516 b extends through an angle A2. The wedge 510 bdefines a thickness as the minimum distance between the lower surface502 b and the upper surface 504 b, i.e., the support surface, in a givencross-sectional plane. T1 refers to the thickness of the wedge 510 b ina first cross sectional plane (see FIG. 57), T2 refers to the thicknessof the wedge 510 b in a second cross sectional plane (see FIG. 58), andthickness T3 refers to the thickness of the wedge 510 b in a third crosssectional plane (see FIG. 59). Note that the thicknesses T1 and T2 ofwedge 510 b are sufficient to allow the wedge 510 b to contact andsupport end coil 37 and adjacent coil 38 in their respective crosssectional planes depicted in FIGS. 57 and 58. In contrast, thickness T3of the wedge 510 b is less than the distance between end coil 37 andadjacent coil 38 in the cross sectional plane shown in FIG. 59, whichresults in the formation of gap X. The size of gap X, i.e., the distancebetween coil 38 and the bottom of upper surface 504 b, is large enough,to allow some deflection of adjacent coil 38 prior to contact with theupper surface 504 b, which helps guide adjacent coil 38 to uniformlybend and cause spring coil 30 to remain more concentric and linear inspring rate. In one embodiment, the size of gap X is at least 1 mm,while in other embodiments the size of the gap X may be between 0.5mm-5.0 mm. The support surface second region 516 b may best controluniform coil deflection when the size of A2 is 120 degrees or more, yetmay provide significant benefit when the size of A2 is at least 45degrees.

It may be preferred if the support surface second region 516 b is madeup of a variable helix that gradually transitions from matching theadjacent coil 38 helix to a smaller helix so that the adjacent coil 38is gradually supported through coil 30 deflection. In this regard, thefirst region 515 b may define a first helix angle and the second region516 b may define a second helix angle different from the first helixangle. The second helix angle may be less than the first helix angle.Furthermore, the adjacent coil defines a coil helix angle substantiallyequal to the first helix angle. The smaller helix angle of the secondregion 516 b relative to the first region 515 b and the coil may allowfor the formation of the gap X.

Much of the benefit of the second region 516 b may be obtained even ifthe second region 516 b only contacts the spring 30 towards the end ofangle A2, such as the plane within which section 59-59 was taken.Support surface 515 b may best support uniform coil deflection when A1is 20 degrees or more, yet may provide enough support in someapplications when at least 3 degrees.

FIGS. 60-64 show adjustment system 500 with wedge 520 c installed. Wedge520 c is a two piece wedge comprised of lower wedge 521 c and upperwedge 522 c in order to make manufacturing and installation easier for awedge that wraps around more than 360 degrees, yet once installed, thewedge behaves as a long, single piece wedge. Due to its longer effectivelength, wedge 520 c increases the spring rate much more than wedge 510b, for example, because wedge 520 c inactivates about 1.5 coils whereaswedge 510 b inactivates about 0.5 coils. Support surface first region528 c, defined collectively by the entirety of lower wedge 521 c and aportion of upper wedge 522 c, extends through an angle A3 that isgreater than 360 degrees. A3 is depicted in FIG. 60, and spirals aroundthe coil of spring for an additional 360 degrees from the bounds of A3shown therein. Support surface second region 529 c, defined solely by aportion of the upper wedge 522 c, extends through an angle A4. Note thatthe lower wedge 521 c thicknesses T4, T6, and T8 are enough to block allmovement between end coil 37 and adjacent coil 38. Upper wedge 522 cthicknesses T5 and T7 may block all movement between adjacent coils 38and 38 a, whereas thickness T9 may be less than the distance betweenadjacent coils 38 and 38 a such that a gap X2 is formed to allowadjacent coil 38 a to deflect a prescribed amount before contacting thesecond region 529 c and becoming supported thereby. The size of gap X2is big enough, such as at least 1 mm, to allow some deflection ofadjacent coil 38 a prior to contact and support, which helps guideadjacent coil 38 a to uniformly bend and cause spring coil 30 to remainmore concentric and linear in spring rate. Second region 529 c may bestcontrol uniform coil deflection when A4 is 120 degrees or more, yet mayprovide significant benefit when at least 45 degree. It may be preferredthat the second region 529 c defines a variable helix angle thatgradually transitions from matching the adjacent coil 38 helix angle toa smaller helix angle so that the adjacent coil 38 a may be graduallysupported through coil 30 deflection. Much of the benefit of secondregion 529 c may be obtained even if second region 529 c only contactsadjacent coil 38 a towards the end of angle A4, such as the area wherecross section 64-64 was taken. First region 528 c may best supportuniform coil deflection when A3 is 20 degrees or more, yet providesenough support in some applications when at least 5 degrees.

Wedges 510 a-c and 520 a-c may include a protrusion similar toprotrusion 22 discussed above to facilitate engagement with groove 32 ofspring 30, which may better secure wedges 510 a-510 c and 520 a-520 c tospring 30.

Referring now to FIGS. 65-73, another embodiment of an adjustment system600 is shown. Adjustment system 600 is similar to the adjustment system410 shown in FIGS. 46-48, except that body 550 includes an upper surface552 including a first region 558 and a second region 559, with thetransition between the first and second regions 558, 559 occurring atline 557. The second region 559 may gradually moves away from supportingspring 30 when spring 30 is not deflected, resulting in gap X3. Then, asspring 30 is deflected in compression, spring 30 comes into more andmore contact with the second region 559. In this way, as with adjustmentsystem 500, the coil deflection may be better controlled in order tokeep all the active coils substantially concentric and provide morepredictable and linear spring rates. Adjustment system 600 includes body550, wedge 540, and spring 30. Body 550 has an upper surface 552including a first region 558 that may function as a continuation ofsupport surface 548 of wedge 540. Wedge 540 may include a protrusionthat engages with groove 32 of spring 30.

FIG. 66 shows adjustment system 600 adjusted to a minimum spring ratesetting, with surface 555 (see FIGS. 67 and 68) on body 550 contactingsurface 545 on wedge 540. FIG. 70 shows the adjustment system 600adjusted to a maximum spring rate setting, with protrusion 551 on body550 contacting protrusion 541 on wedge 540. As shown, adjustment system600 has 200 degrees of rotational adjustment amounting to approximatelya 14% spring rate adjustment range. However, other adjustment systemsmay be associated with different magnitudes of rotational adjustment anddifferent spring rates. In general, larger magnitudes of rotationaladjustment allow for greater amounts of spring rate adjustment ranges,while lower magnitudes of rotational adjustment allow for lesser amountsof spring rate adjustment ranges.

FIGS. 69-73 show adjustment system 600 adjusted to its maximum springrate setting. Adjustment system 600 has an upper surface with first andsecond regions 558, 559 which function in a similar way and for asimilar purpose as the first and second regions of upper surface ofadjustment system 500. Specifically, body 550 has a first region 558that spans from end surface 555 to transition line 557 through an angleA5. Wedge 540 has support surface 548 that ideally bridges between endcoil 37 and adjacent coil 38 as shown by thicknesses T10, T12, and T14.The thicknesses of the wedge 540 are defined by the minimum distancebetween the support surface 548 and an opposing base surface 542 withinthe transverse cross sectional plane. Body 550 thicknesses T11 and T13,taken within the first region 558, bridges between adjacent coils 38 and38 a of the spring 30 through angle A5. The thicknesses of the body 550are defined by the minimum distance between the upper surface 552 and anopposing base surface 554 within the transverse cross sectional plane.The second region 559 of the upper surface of body 550 spans through anangle A6, i.e., from the transition line 557 to the distal end of thebody 550, which is far enough that the portion of the body 550associated with thickness T15 is positioned between adjacent coils 38 aand 38 b. Thickness T15 of body 550 is less than the distance betweenadjacent coils 38 a and 38 b such that there is a thickness gap X3between body 550 and adjacent coil 38 b that allows adjacent coil 38 bto deflect prior to becoming supported or contacting the portion of body550 associated with thickness T15 in order to better control that coil30 deflects concentrically and linearly.

Thickness gap X3 may be bigger than thickness gaps X1 and X2 becausesecond region 559 may span a larger angle A6 than angles A2 and A4. Theconfiguration of second region 559 which allows for a gap between thebody 550 and the adjacent coil when the spring 30 is at rest may bettercontrol uniform coil deflection in response to spring compression whenA6 is 120 degrees or more, yet may provide significant benefit when atleast 45 degree. It may be preferred that second region 559 isassociated with a variable helix angle that gradually transitions frommatching the adjacent coil 38 a helix angle to that of a smaller helixangle so that the adjacent coil 38 b may be gradually supported throughcoil 30 deflection. Much of the benefit of second region 559 may beobtained even if second region 559 only contacts adjacent coil 38 btowards the end of angle A6, such as where cross section 70-70 wastaken. The first region 558 may best support substantially uniform coildeflection when A5 is 15 degrees or more, yet may provide enough supportin some applications when at least 3 degrees.

The particulars shown herein are by way of example only for purposes ofillustrative discussion, and are not presented in the cause of providingwhat is believed to be most useful and readily understood description ofthe principles and conceptual aspects of the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In this regard, no attempt is made to show any moredetail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of thedifferent features of the various embodiments, the description takenwith the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how thesemay be implemented in practice.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adjustment system for use with a damper of abike suspension, the adjustment system comprising: a coil springengageable with the damper and extending about a spring axis, the coilspring having: an end coil; and an adjacent coil extending helicallyaway from the end coil to define a gap between the end coil and theadjacent coil in a direction parallel to the spring axis; and an insertinsertable within the gap to mitigate compression of the adjacent coiltoward the end coil, the insert including a support surface including afirst region and a second region, the insert being sized and structuredsuch that when the coil spring is at rest and the insert is insertedwithin the gap, the first region contacts the adjacent coil and thesecond region is spaced from the adjacent coil, and when the coil springis under a prescribed compressive force, both the first and secondregions contact the adjacent coil.
 2. The adjustment system recited inclaim 1, wherein the first region of the support surface defines a firsthelix angle and the second region of the support surface defines asecond helix angle different from the first helix angle.
 3. Theadjustment system recited in claim 2, wherein the second helix angle isless than the first helix angle.
 4. The adjustment system recited inclaim 1, wherein the first region of the support surface defines a firsthelix angle and the second region of the support surface includes adistal end which defines a second helix angle smaller than the firsthelix angle.
 5. The adjustment system recited in claim 1, wherein theinsert includes a first body and a second body connectable to the firstbody.
 6. The adjustment system recited in claim 5, wherein the insertextends at least 180 degrees relative to the coil.
 7. The adjustmentsystem recited in claim 5, wherein the first body includes a pluralityof grooves and the second body includes a protrusion selectivelypositional in a corresponding one of the plurality of grooves toselectively adjust a position of the second body relative to the firstbody.
 8. The adjustment system recited in claim 1, wherein the coilspring includes a first engagement element formed on at least one of theend coil and the adjacent coil, and the insert includes a secondengagement element engageable with the first engagement element.
 9. Theadjustment system recited in claim 8, wherein the first engagementelement includes a groove formed on the at least one of the end coil andthe adjacent coil.
 10. The adjustment system recited in claim 9, whereinthe second engagement element includes a protrusion complimentary to thegroove.
 11. The adjustment system recited in claim 1, wherein at least aportion of the second region is spaced from the adjacent coil by atleast 1 mm when the coil spring is at rest and the insert is insertedwithin the gap of the coil spring.
 12. The adjustment system recited inclaim 1, wherein the support surface is of a concave configuration. 13.An adjuster for a coil spring used with a damper of a bike suspensionand extending about a spring axis, the coil spring having an end coiland an adjacent coil extending helically away from the end coil todefine a gap between the end coil and the adjacent coil in a directionparallel to the spring axis, the adjuster comprising: an insertinsertable within the gap of the spring to mitigate compression of theadjacent coil toward the end coil, the insert including a supportsurface including a first region and a second region, the insert beingsized and structured such that when the coil spring is at rest and theinsert is inserted within the gap, the first region contacts theadjacent coil and the second region is spaced from the adjacent coil,and when the coil spring is under a prescribed compressive force, boththe first and second regions contact the adjacent coil.
 14. The adjusterrecited in claim 13, wherein the first region of the support surfacedefines a first helix angle and the second region of the support surfacedefines a second helix angle different from the first helix angle. 15.The adjuster recited in claim 14, wherein the second helix angle is lessthan the first helix angle.
 16. The adjuster recited in claim 13,wherein the insert includes a first body and a second body connectableto the first body.
 17. The adjuster recited in claim 16, wherein theinsert extends at least 180 degrees about a central axis.
 18. Theadjuster recited in claim 16, wherein the first body includes aplurality of grooves and the second body includes a protrusionselectively positional in a corresponding one of the plurality ofgrooves to selectively adjust a position of the second body relative tothe first body.
 19. The adjuster recited in claim 13, wherein insertincludes an engagement element engageable with a correspondingengagement element on the coil spring.
 20. The adjuster recited in claim19, wherein the engagement element on the insert includes a protrusionengageable with a groove formed on the coil spring.